Just as the full truth behind the 9/11 attack and the missed clues beforehand, including the long-hidden classified Saudi files, had to come out so that ignoramuses like Donald Trump couldn’t claim “nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11,” (well, he can say it and does say it, but it’s transparently untrue), so must the full truth of what happened regarding the deadly toxins unleashed into the air when the World Trade Center collapsed into a miles-high column of pulverized concrete, steel and glass.
Lawyers for the City of New York are sitting on a hidden library of documents about the environmental and health hazards from Ground Zero dating back to 2001 that must be published.
Survivors and responders want to know what the city knew, and Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney have been pressing for years for City Hall to release the archive. The Daily News now reports that lawyers for Mayor Eric Adams are willing to relent, but only if Congress grants the city immunity from any future lawsuits. And the city gets to hold on to the remaining $300 million in what’s called the captive insurance fund created to cover ligation against contractors working on the WTC recovery. And the feds put aside money for other cases.
To us, that’s all unnecessary. Anyone whose health was damaged by exposure to WTC debris and joined the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund — which has paid out in excess of $10 billion to more than 45,000 people — gave up their right to sue, so it’s hard to imagine anyone bringing a legal claim. And even if there is a case or two, the city’s liability is already limited to $350 million.
And we don’t see the argument to keeping the remaining money in the captive insurance fund either.
The point isn’t about cash, but the truth. The whole truth, like in the oath witnesses take in court. That’s what is needed here. Mr. Mayor, override the lawyers and publish the full record.
